Wednesday's News & Ideas - 4/2/2025
- Christians impacted by deportation
- Zionism & Christianity
- SCOTUS on religious groups
- Austin pastor’s tweet
- Synagogue attracts techies
- Belief in UFOs
Evangelical, Catholic groups: 1 in 12 Christians could be impacted by Trump deportations
Religion News Service: The report serves as both a theological and data-driven refutation of the president’s campaign pledge to enact “the largest deportation in US history.”
Religion Unplugged: 8% of US Christians live in homes susceptible to deportation
Christian Zionism hasn’t always been a conservative evangelical creed — churches’ views of Israel have evolved over decades
The Conversation: Christian Zionism is much older than the 1980s alliance between the Republican Party and the religious right.
Supreme Court seems ready to let religious groups opt out of unemployment compensation laws
NPR: The U.S. Supreme Court appeared openly doubtful on Monday about Wisconsin’s refusal to exempt Catholic Charities from making payments into the state’s mandatory unemployment system.
Conservatives lash out at Austin pastor over post recognizing transgender holiday*
Chron: Pastor Zach Lambert said there are “no ‘biblical’ grounds” for transphobia. Fury ensued.
A groundbreaking synagogue lures burned-out techies with digital strategies (and ecstatic dance)
Religion News Service: Chochmat HaLev has almost tripled its membership since 2022, in part by appealing to younger generations with ties to Burning Man and Silicon Valley.
The Spark
Far out: Why don’t we believe in UFOs?
Is it scientific impossibility or simply human ego that stops us from entertaining the idea of extraterrestrial visitation? JSTOR asks.
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